Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

.OBSERVEDTRIALS,· L : : ucerne V II ey a - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- ..26th EI Trial de Espana ,', , - --------------Buttes ar ea, and he had a point to prove a ft e r finishing th ir d at th e Sat urd ay N ation al. The Belgian rode with a de term ination secon d to no ne, and actually cleane d each and everyone of the 14 morning sections. "1 rode very we ll this morning," said Clamagirand. "The sections were good, and 1was full of confidence." Aaron and Young were next best, as th e pair both en d ed the m orning loop with six-point cards. Both fived section three, as did the majority of the rid ers, The on ly riders to clean the tric ky trap were Clarnagirand and Colorado's Mark Manniko. Matt Moo re made it through with a one, while Raymond Peters paddled his way throu gh for a three. Canad ia n Ryon Bell a nd Kempkes were tied for fou rth after th e open ing loo p, with seven-po int totals, For Bell, it was a chance to redeem himself after a p oor show ing a t th e pre vi ous d ay ' s National. "1 ha d cl u tch prob lem s yesterday, and 1 had to punch fives at a lot of sect ion s to s tay on ti me," sai d Bell. "It seems to be w orkin g bett er tod ay, and I'm riding better also, " The morning sections p r es e nte d (Left) National Champion Geoff Aaron picked up his second career EI Trial de Espana win . The Connecticut rider w ill likely be on the American Trial des Nations team lor wh ich the event raises lunds. (Below) Last year 's California National winner Jess Kempkes rode with an intensity that nelled him third place. The Nebraskan enjoys t he big rock sections 01 Lucerne. By Donn MaedaIDlrt Rider Magazine LUCERNE, CA, MARCH 24 ith tw o National Championships and 18 National wins to his credit, one might expect Geoff Aaron to have several El Trial de Espana wins under his belt. Likewise for six-time Na tiona l Champion Ryan Young . Forty-nine National wins? C'mon, th er e ought to be a handful of ETdE wins in there somewhere... Oddly enough, before this y e a r, Aaron h ad sa mpled the sweet taste of victory on ly once a t the renowned even t, and Young rem ain ed w inl ess. Bad luck, electing no t to compete, and surprise European ent rants h ave ke pt th e dynamic duo from dominating the ETdE in the p ast, bur the re ' wou ld be non e of that at th e '96 version. Hot off his previous da y' s National win, Aaro n stormed to th e top of th e heap aboard hi s Ron Commo Sr.-tun ed Beta Techn o a n d put an ex clam a tion p oint on an alr eady su ccessfu l w eekend in Californi a. And what abo utYou ng? Th ou gh th e Kentuck y rider finishe d a d istant fou rt h , he ro d e w ith a fla sh and flair uncharacteristic of his usual steady self and pleased the crowd to no end , Young may not ha ve won the eve nt itself, but the normally sedate rid er definitely won a few new fans. Second went to Cou gar Buttes regular Olivier Clamagiran d, who was actually a favo rite to w in the eve nt followi ng a dabless m orn in g loop , and rou nding out the top three was last yea r's California Na tiona l win ner Jess Kernpkes. "The whole eve nt came down to the last section," said Aaron, w ho en tered the last section of th e day in need of a clean to win the event. "1 really had to fight fo r t h at last cl e a n . El Trial d e W ..... 1-< 0-

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